Officials ‘Baffled’ by LNG Explosion in Washington

IF ANYTHING CAN EXPLODE, LEAK, CONTAMINATE… 
It WILL !
.

LNG explosion hurls huge chunks of shrapnel hundreds of meters in major gas storage site

State and federal officials are still baffled as to what caused a massive explosion at a liquefied natural gas facility on the Washington-Oregon border near the small town of Plymouth.

“Early Monday, a ‘processing vessel’ at the Williams facility near the small town of Plymouth, Washington, exploded, spraying chunks of shrapnel as heavy as 250 pounds as far as 300 yards, according to local emergency responders,” Reuters reported.

“The flying debris pierced the double walls of a 134-foot LNG tank on site, causing leaks. Five workers were injured, and local responders warned that vapors from the leaks could trigger a more devastating, second explosion. A county fire department spokesman said authorities were concerned a second blast could level a 0.75 mile ‘lethal zone’ around the plant.”

The blast injured at least five employees at the plant and ruptured a massive LNG storage tank, prompted the authorities to evacuate the entire town of Plymouth and everyone else within a 3.2-km (2 mile) zone of the plant, AP reported.

On January 12, 2014 FIRE-EARTH said:

If Anything Can Explode, Leak, Contaminate…

Estimated 100,000 HAZMAT storage sites across the U.S. can potentially explode, leak, contaminate the environment—FIRE-EARTH

United States is dotted with an estimated 100,000 HAZMAT storage sites containing one or more of deadly substances including radioactive, biohazardous, toxic, explosive, flammable, asphyxiating, corrosive, oxidizing, pathogenic, or allergenic materials, as well as herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers that don’t fall into those categories.

Some of the substances (hazchems), which include more than 200 types of dioxins, are so lethal that even a small leak into the water supply could kill or permanently harm millions of people, before they are detected.

Related Links

• If Anything Can Explode, Leak, Contaminate… January 12, 2014

Satellite Images of Recent Volcanic Activities

Recent Activity at Shiveluch Volcano

Shiveluch Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula ejected a plume of ash, volcanic gases and steam, while dark rivulets flowed down the volcano’s snowy slopes. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on February 13, 2010. Dark flows on the snowy slopes could result from lava and/or lahars—avalanches of water and mud likely prompted by heat from the summit.

Shiveluch is among Kamchatka’s most active volcanoes. In mid-February 2010, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported that activity at Shiveluch had been elevated above background levels for days, including a lava flow as well as ash plumes reaching an altitude of 5.2 kilometers (17,060 feet). NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen. Caption by Michon Scott. Edited by FEWW.

Partial Dome Collapse at Soufriere Hills

Soufrière Hills Volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat experienced a partial dome collapse on February 11, 2010 at 12:35 pm local time. Lasting nearly an hour, the event sent a plume 15 km (50,000 feet) skyward, and sent pyroclastic flows—avalanches of hot gas and debris—some 300 to 400 meters (980 to 1,200 feet) out to sea. The pyroclastic flows destroyed many buildings in the village of Harris north of Sourfrière Hills, and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory described the dome collapse as the most severe incident since May 2006.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on February 11, 2010, the same afternoon that the dome collapsed. An east-west volcanic plume completely obscures the island of Montserrat, casting a shadow toward the northeast. Two smaller, fainter plumes also extend from the island, one to the north and the other to the south. The northern plume lies in the shadow of the east-west plume and consequently must occur at a lower altitude. NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team  at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott. Edited by FEWW.

• See Photo album of the collapse from ground level.
• Other photos of the volcano
  

View E across ash-covered Plymouth, the former capital city and major port of Montserrat, toward Soufriere Hills volcano. Before the volcano became active in July 1995, about 5,000 people lived in Plymouth, located 4 km west of English’s Crater. During the first two years of the eruption, ash and noxious gas from explosions and pyroclastic flows frequently settled on Plymouth. On August 3, about 3 weeks after this image was taken, the first significant pyroclastic flow swept through the evacuated town. The flow triggered many fires and caused extensive damage to buildings and community facilities by direct impact and burial. Date: 12 July 1997. Credit: R.P. Hoblitt/ USGS

In Uncertain Future for Montserrat Island, Fire-Earth Moderators estimated that the island could become completely uninhabitable by 2013 or earlier

Fire Earth’s EarthModel forecasts the probability of Montserrat island becoming completely uninhabitable as follows:

Probability of Montserrat Becoming Uninhabitable in the Near Future

• 2009 ≥ 50%
• 2010 ≥ 56%
• 2011 ≥ 60%
• 2012 ≥ 70%
• 2013 ≥ 80%

Montserrat Island Details:

• Capital:
  • Plymouth (destroyed in 1997- see photo below)
  • Brades (de facto)
• Location: Montserrat Island
• Coordinates: (16.72 N, 62.18 W)
• Height: 915 meters (3,010 feet)
• Official languages:     English
• Ethnic groups:     West African, Mulatto, British, Irish
• Government:     British Overseas Territory
• Area:   102 km²  (39 sq mi )

Related Links:

• 2010 Year of Super Volcanoes?
• Montserrat Soufrière Hills Resumes Activity
• Montserrat: What Next?
• Shiveluch Release Plumes of Ash

• Earthquake Monitoring Centers and EQ links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Volcano Links
• Alaska Shaking and Rattling Like a Popcorn Pan

Dynamic Duo Volcanoes Erupt

Nicaragua’s Volcán Concepción spewed smoke and ash into the air

Nicaragua’s Concepcion volcano erupted Saturday spewing smoke into the air and showering ash on nearby villages. Nicaragua’s Ineter geophysics agency has alerted the authorities about the possibility of further eruptions.

Dozens of mud structures in the area were damaged and a dozen people injured in 2005 episode of seismic activity at Volcán Concepción.

Volcán Concepción is one of Nicaragua’s highest and most active volcanoes. The symmetrical basaltic-to-dacitic stratovolcano forms the NW half of the dumbbell-shaped island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua and is connected to neighboring Madera volcano by a narrow isthmus. A steep-walled summit crater is 250 m deep and has a higher western rim. N-S-trending fractures on the flanks of the volcano have produced chains of spatter cones, cinder cones, lava domes, and maars located on the NW, NE, SE, and southern sides extending in some cases down to Lake Nicaragua. Concepción was constructed above a basement of lake sediments, and the modern cone grew above a largely buried caldera, a small remnant of which forms a break in slope about halfway up the north flank. Frequent explosive eruptions during the past half century have increased the height of the summit significantly above that shown on current topographic maps and have kept the upper part of the volcano unvegetated. Photo by Jaime Incer. Caption by GVP

Volcán Concepción Details
Last Known Eruption: 2007
Summit Elevation: 1,700? m  (5,577 feet)
Latitude: 11.538°N  (11°32’16″N)
Longitude: 85.622°W (85°37’21″W)
Source: GVP

Meanwhile

Soufrière Hills Volcano spewed pyroclastic debris, forcing evacuations of Zone C

MVO raised the Hazard Level to 4 on 10 December, making  Zone C off limit, and allowing only daytime access  to Zone B.

Soufrière Hills Volcano in Montserrat spews ash into the air.

MVO had previously reported high level of activity at the Soufrière Hills Volcano citing ” nine hundred and fifty seven rockfall signals, two hundred and seven long period events, three volcano tectonic and one hundred and six hybrid earthquakes recorded. Activity has continued in cycles although these cycles have become more irregular in time in the last few days.”

“Pyroclastic flow and rockfall activity has been concentrated on the northern side of the volcano.” It also reported  large pyroclastic flows from Tuitt’s Ghaut, onto Farrell’s plain and into Tyers Ghaut, with many runout distances  reaching 2 km from the lava dome.

“At around 6:40 am on 10 December there was a notably large seismic signal recorded associated with a relatively large pyroclastic flow down Tyers Ghaut. This flow had a runout distance of 3.5 km, stopping just beyond the west end of Lee’s village.” MVO said.

Ash and Steam Plume, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat. Gray deposits including pyroclastic flows and lahars are visible extending from the volcano toward the coastline. Credit NASA. Astronaut photograph ISS021-E-5555 was acquired on October 11, 2009.

Soufrière Hills became active in 1995  and has since continued to erupt rendering more than half of Montserrat island uninhabitable, burying the capital city, Plymouth, and prompting widespread evacuations.  On June 25, 1997 the volcano erupted, killing 19 people and prompting about 60 percent of the population (about 8,000 refugees) to leave the island.

Related Links:

• Two Volcanoes Erupt in Japan
• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [10 Dec 2009]